DO NOT FORGET, I DRIVE ON A FULL TANK OF FAITH

Several times in recent years, I have been asked how I am able to take the many AK 47s and torpedoes repeatedly fired at me. You may have heard that each time, I have replied that I drive on a full tank of faith. I verily believe that as long as you have faith, you can move mountains. You are unbeatable.

That might sound arrogant but it is not meant to be. I have come to the conclusion that if what you do is for the good of God's children and you believe in the power of the Almighty, many will be confounded as to what you achieve and how bullets fly past you without touching you.

For your tank to be full of faith, please make sure that you do not top up with hate, greed, jealousy, covetousness and their likes. When what moves you is the love of God's children, faith becomes not just a weapon but a shield.

It is my rule not to launch an attack on any innocent person. In fact, I will go out of my way to avoid a confrontation. It may be why I get attacked so often and get underestimated so often. It is only when I have tried my best to avoid an attack that I respond and respond forcefully. 

Many complain that I do not appear to worry about anything; my health, my safety; my finances or tomorrow. I am a workaholic who just trudges on. As long as what I am doing is to the glory of the Almighty, I do it with joy and a smile. I do not worry. I drive on a full tank of faith. I verily do not believe that the Almighty will send me on an errand without ensuring that I have the means to get there.

Nobody can bring you down except yourself. If you do not have faith, you have already failed even before you have started. If you see the cup as half empty instead of half full, you have already failed. I know that no matter how bad the situation may appear, there is a way, there is an answer, there is a solution.

I believe that we spend far too much time staring at and worrying about our problems instead of looking at the solutions which most times are right in front of us. When you drive on a full tank of faith, you see solutions and not problems.

As you join God's children and the nightingales from every tribe and every denomination this Sunday at our trending event, "COSON in the Church", please come with your tank full of faith completely believing that the Almighty will hear your prayers and will meet you at the point of your need. Not long ago, men of little faith were sure that an event like "COSON in the Church" will never see the light of day again. They celebrated that they have brought to a screeching halt the work of the living God. This Sunday, there will be another unforgettable "COSON in the Church" to usher in another "COSON Week". It simply proves that no one can bring to an end the work of the Almighty.

I am moved by the words of my brother and colleague Righteousman Erhabor, who will be on stage at COSON in the Church this Sunday. Said Righteousman: "I have uncountable reasons to testify of God's miraculous works in my life. So much of His Glory and Power I have seen, enjoyed and still enjoying. Extraordinary Grace unexplainable! Even 30 billion tongues are not enough to give Him praise!"

Righteousman will be rocking the stage with the likes of the Prince of the Niger Delta, the gospel music generalissimo, Asu Ekiye and Saxophonist extra-ordinaire, Mike Aremu. It will be a gospel music explosion this Sunday at the main auditorium of Revival Assembly in Ikeja with Nigeria's most admired Gospel singers of the present day such as Ayo Vincent, Ibitayo Jeje, Tosin Bee, Ighosa Obaro, Jerry K and Essence. Also storming this 'festival of faith' will be the "five bad guys" of the gospel, Word-to-God. If you have never seen Emmaolin do unbelievable things with the violin, Sunday is your chance to experience this remarkably talented artiste. He makes music that reaches out to the angels. The new-wave performers will be supported by the evergreen Queens of the Gospel such as the unshakable KSB and the unstoppable Funmi Aragbaye, the President of the Gospel Musicians Association of Nigeria (GOMAN).

I have conceived and produced many memorable events in my career. I can assure everyone that the 2019 'COSON in the Church' will be hot, smoking and uplifting.

I know that for most Christians, the 1^st of December every year begins the Christmas season. I make bold to ask everyone who can make it to be at the beautiful auditorium of Revival Assembly this Sunday at 3.00 pm to receive God's blessings in abundance and begin this Christmas season in the presence of the Almighty. It will be awesome. Anyone who knows me will testify that I do not promise that which I will not deliver. When I do things, I try to do them well. I drive on a full tank of faith.

All hands are on deck. Nigeria's greatest gospel singers are ready. The most amazing and anointed men of God will pray for the Nigerian nation and for the families of everyone present at this time of great challenges in our country. This is an important contribution of the musicians of Nigeria to national unity. The red carpet will be hot with paparazzi everywhere and there will be stars and stars every direction you look.

Please, next time you wonder how a guy called Tony Okoroji can take the many AK 47s and torpedoes repeatedly fired at him, stop wondering. Just remember that I drive on a full tank of faith.

See you next week.

BISI IS THE MAN!

I nearly missed the massive Bisi Olatilo shindig at the Balmoral Hall of Federal Palace Hotel last night. What a show! How would I have explained that to myself and to my brother and friend who has been there for me through thick and thin? Let me say publicly that I cannot think of five Nigerians that have identified with me, the son of an Igbo man, the way this guy from the west, who speaks every Nigerian language and who is at home anywhere in Nigeria, has.

Ordinarily, a Bisi Olatilo event is my event. I should be the one making the arrangements and receiving people as they arrived. I want to thank all the people who stood in for me and made the show spark. Everyone was there. Once again, Bisi, the magnet that pulls people together, brought the Glitterati of the Nigerian nation from every corner of our country to the historic Federal Palace Hotel. If you were not at the incredible event celebrating 20 years of the iconic, Bisi Olatilo Show, it may just be that you are not as important as you think you are. Practically every important person in Nigeria was there.

Last night, I concluded that the common friend of Bisi and myself whom we thought we buried last year is not dead after all. Live on stage at the big party was the rub-a-dub master, the great Ras Kimono dishing out Rhumba Stylee, Under Pressure, What's Gwan and all the memorable songs. It is just that the Kimono last night was younger and came in a female shape. The swag was there, the command of the stage was there, the control of the band was there, the voice was there and everyone at the Balmoral Hall rocked as Oge Kimono, the 1^st daughter of Ras Kimono made her father proud. I could not help but jump on stage with Bisi to rock to the magical performance of Oge Kimono. I had thought that I was at the burial of Ras Kimono. Last night, I was not sure anymore. Ras Kimono lives!   

The great Bisi Olatilo party was the one good way to end a week that tested my spirit and resolve. What a week!

During the jaw breaking and incomparable traffic in Lagos of Wednesday, November 20, 2019, I got a call that I had to be in Abuja for a crucial meeting on Thursday. Going home was as difficult as going to work. Please ask Abey, my driver, what we went through in the streets of the city called Lagos on Wednesday.

On a normal day, it takes us less than 25 minutes to get from home to COSON House in Ikeja. On Wednesday, we left home at 2.00 pm for a meeting at COSON House scheduled for 3 pm. Believe me, nothing was normal on any road to Ikeja this past Wednesday. 7 lanes of madness had developed on each side of the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway! Even the famous Lagos 'Okada' could not move. I saw hundreds of okadas stuck at one point. I called COSON House to apologize that I was in traffic and would be a little late for the meeting. Lo and behold, 3 pm turned to 4 pm and 4 pm turned to 5 pm. At 6 pm, 4 hours after we left home, we were still locked up at the same point around the old Punch office. We had still not done half of the trip to COSON House!

Nothing was making sense any more as thousands of people, many carrying heavy loads on their heads were trekking in every direction. Ikeja looked every much like a war zone.

I told Abey that I was not prepared to spend Christmas stuck in that traffic. Even if we wished to go back home, it was impossible. I got down from the car and began a long trek to COSON House. I asked Abey to join me whenever he could extricate the car from the madness. The whole of Ikeja was trekking. A few times, I almost got knocked down by many of the angry and frustrated people who were trekking alongside me. I got to COSON House at about 7.30 pm all sweaty, dirty, frustrated and tired. I was able to get a few things done.

Abey did manage to get the car out of the jam. He joined me at COSON House at 10 pm! It had taken Abey 8 hours to do a journey we normally did in less than 25 minutes. Anyone who set out from Lagos to London at the time we left home would have arrived London, eaten, had a bath and slept! If you were driving from Owerri to Lagos, you would have long arrived the city.  As we turned to go home, we tried very hard to avoid the 'go-slow' spots. For where? Despite our best efforts, we arrived home at 1.30 a.m. It was already Thursday morning and I had to be at the airport on my way to Abuja same morning.  

How many people missed their flights in Lagos on Wednesday? How many flights left half empty? How many people who were trying to get to a hospital lost their lives in the Lagos mayhem of this week? Who planned the plan-less road repairs in Lagos during the week that had no plans as to how people get from one point to another?  Has anyone lost his job as a result of the trauma the people of Lagos have been made to go through and the huge cost to the state? What happened in Lagos during the week is simply not acceptable.

Yes, I did get to the airport and to Abuja. I almost got stuck in Abuja and had to practically drive straight from the airport to Federal Palace Hotel. When I saw the crowd and the setting, I was lifted and relieved. I could not have done it better.

I dedicate Saturday Breakfast today to Prince Bisi Olatilo, a special kind of guy, a giver and not a taker. Bisi is the man!  

See you next week.

THE ROUGH & TUMBBLE WITH BABANGIDA’S MINISTERS & THE BIRTH OF NARI

It was clear to me that there was no way that the objectives of PMAN under my presidency would be achieved without a strong engagement with the key officers of the government in power.

I recall that my first ever meeting with any minister of the federal republic as PMAN President, was with John Shagaya, then Minister of Internal Affairs and a very influential person in the military government of Ibrahim Babangida. Colonel Shagaya was one of the first ministers to relocate from Lagos to Abuja. Our meeting was scheduled for10 am at Colonel Shagaya's Abuja office in the 'Area 1' Federal Secretariat in Garki.

PMAN could only manage money for two persons to go to Abuja. The late Rowland Onwuama, father of singer, Chichi of Africa and a very passionate member of my executive council left Lagos with me on an early morning flight to the practically virgin land called Abuja with the aim of coming back immediately after our meeting with the minister. At the Ministry of Internal Affairs, there was no minister. I was told that Colonel Shagaya had gone to a meeting with Miriam, the equally powerful and beautiful wife of President Babangida. A long wait then ensued. Rowland and I dozed and woke up, dozed and woke up. When the minister finally showed up at about 5 pm, it was clear that the PMAN team would be stranded in Abuja because it was too late to go back to Lagos and there was no money for any hotel accommodation.

I was apparently naïve and too inexperienced to understand that to see a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was a rare privilege reserved only for the anointed. I was angry and complained to the Minister that a meeting scheduled for 10 am was holding at 5 pm. The minister's reaction suggested that I was an imbecile and a fool not to appreciate the privilege I had been given to be seen at all. Some of the Minister's staff had to intervene to arrest what was fast degenerating into a shouting match between me and the Minister. Eventually, tempers came down and I explained that the PMAN team had come to Abuja to solicit the Minister's support in getting the government to establish a new copyright regime which would have tremendous benefits for the country. The mutual antagonism evaporated and a friendly discussion took place with the minister promising to do what he could.

At the end of the meeting, we told the Minister that we were stranded in his city. The Minister indeed made every attempt to ensure that the PMAN duo did not end up spending the night on the streets of Abuja. Our eventual savior was a man who is today addressed as Sir Chika Chiejine. Chiejine who comes from Onicha Olona, the same town as Onwuama and my guy, the late Ras Kimono, was one of the first people to strike it out in Abuja with next to nothing. Sir Chiejine today owns the extensive Savannah Suites hotel empire. I remain ever grateful to him.

PMAN also had several meetings with Tony Momoh who was Minister of Information & Culture. Prince Momoh never kept anyone waiting. There were no ministerial airs about him. I had met Prince Momoh long before he became a Minister, through a mutual friend, Chike Egbuna, the great "Mr. Soul" who used to be a significant voice on the BBC African Service and later became DG of the Imo State Broadcasting Corporation (IBC). While he was editor of Daily Times, Tony Momoh had also been quite helpful to me as a young singer and his Surulere home was a place to go for good food. His new powerful position had not changed him. Prince Momoh was to become a major factor in whatever success PMAN achieved under my presidency.

A large delegation from PMAN had also gone to meet with Ike Nwachukwu while he was Minister of Employment, Labour & Productivity. Once more, there was a long wait. At this time, I had become more accustomed to the ways of government officials and had done a crash course in Patience. I simply sat in the waiting room reading a book. When morning turned to afternoon and hunger set in, there was loud grumbling in the waiting room. First Vice President, Onyeka Onwenu announced that she could not stand it anymore and promptly headed for the elevator at the Federal Secretariat in Lagos. Some members of the team had to run after her, because just as she left, information came that the minister had arrived via the special elevator reserved for Ministers. The Minister, charming as ever, apologized for keeping the group waiting and gave one of those ready-made excuses that government officials have in abundance. As the team left, a member of the delegation joked that while I spoke, the Minister appeared to have had his attention on only one person in the room, the good looking and strikingly dressed vice president, Onyeka Onwenu!

Despite the tremendous activities going on at PMAN, there was a big problem. The music industry was deeply fractured. There was significant mistrust between the major multinational recording companies and a lot of the indigenous companies. There was equally no love lost between the artistes and nearly all the companies. Aigbe Lebarty who had contested the PMAN presidency with me had filed several court cases and started a media campaign against PMAN, deploying his self-published newspaper called Weekend Mirror. When he lost in court, Mr. Lebarty resuscitated a long dead musicians' association called Nigerian Union of Musicians (NUM), declared himself president of NUM and did all he could to derail PMAN. My response was to ignore him into irrelevance. While this approach worked, it took a while because Mr. Lebarty, elder brother to the great singer, Felix Lebarty, was a die hard.

The result was that too much energy was being dissipated and the industry could not speak with one voice on the issues in which unity was badly needed. One issue in which unity was absolutely necessary was the struggle for a new copyright regime. I discussed this problem with some of the heads of the recording companies. With the support of Bode Akinyemi, my former boss at EMI; Ton Seysner,.Managing Director of Polygram Records; G.A.D. Tabansi of Tabansi Records; A.O. Awofala of RMNL and Keji Okunowo whose CBS Records had become a significant player, PMAN invited all sections of the industry to a lunch meeting at Lagos Sheraton Hotel on November 12, 1987.

At the meeting which I chaired, the decision was taken to set up the Nigerian Association of Recording Industries (NARI) to act as a rallying point within the industry. The idea of NARI had been muted in the past but the energy to get it started was absent. Mrs. Keji Okunowo was elected Chairman and Mr. Goddy Tabansi of Tabansi Records became Secretary.

The setting up of NARI began a period of unprecedented co-operation in the music industry. For about a year, PMAN Headquarters hosted the secretariat of NARI and its meetings as the organization was nurtured. A lot of problems which could have ended up in court were resolved on the table at No 1 Oremeji Street, Ikeja.Significant respect and co-operation also developed between me and Mrs. Okunowo who joined forces with me in the copyright fight. To me, the era of close co-operation between NARI and PMAN was the golden era of the Nigerian music industry. It was that close co-operation that led to the birth of the Banderole scheme and later the Hologram scheme with the NCC which was used to give piracy a meaningful fight in Nigeria in the 90s. and which other nations copied from us. (to be continued)

See you next week.

PMAN: THE RISE, FALL & RISE OF OKUOIMOSE E. OKUOIMOSE

I have written in Saturday Breakfast about the circumstances that led to the sudden appointment of the noisy and abrasive gentleman called Okuoimose Emmanuel Okuoimose as Acting General Secretary of PMAN following the unscheduled resignation of Emma Ogosi as General Secretary.

I understand that the name Okuoimose in Edo means 'war is not good' but the man with the double-barreled name of Okuoimose E. Okuoimose was a warrior. Okuoimose was never afraid of a fight. There is no way the history of PMAN would be written without the continuous mention of Okuoimose Emmanuel Okuoimose, I may have provided the leadership but Okuoimose was the crankshaft that for many years turned the engine of PMAN, one of Nigeria's most remarkable associations of the 80s and 90s.

I have written about the outstanding bond I established with Okuoimose and the great respect and support he gave me despite his being much older than me. We were a good team. But, if you read this to mean that I had no disagreement or fights with Emmanuel Okuoimose, then you are damn wrong. Okuoimose could be rebellious and I knew that if I did not have a good check on him, he could easily become uncontrollable.

Take this as an example: While Okuoimose was in Lagos as Acting General Secretary, it was clear that he wanted to maintain personal control of events in Benin City where he used to be state secretary. I had repeatedly counselled him to leave the people in Edo State to resolve their problems. On one occasion, Okuoimose was missing at the national secretariat. I learnt from some reliable source that he had summoned a meeting in Benin in what appeared to be the middle of a struggle for dominance between a group led by Actor Segun Alile and another led by Akabaman Rowland Igbenegie, two powerful music operators in Benin. The impression I was given was that the meeting was unlikely to end well as my Acting General Secretary had a personal interest in the outcome.

I usually never went anywhere without the knowledge of my General Secretary. On this occasion, I had to set out unscheduled to Benin. When I arrived the venue of the meeting in Benin, there was heavy argument going on. Okuoimose saw me and practically froze. He did not know how I got to Benin City. I took over the proceedings at the meeting and allowed the people to decide how they were to be led. Thereafter, I left for Lagos  

In Lagos, I had a serious discussion with "Ekpa" as we sometimes called Okuoimose. I let him know that he would not be allowed to engage in independent frolics in the name of the association. I usually do not shout at the staff or colleagues I work with or throw tantrums. I prefer to engender a family atmosphere even though serious work is always being done.  Many times, people have misunderstood this and told themselves that this guy cannot bark or bite. Okuoimose may have made the same mistake as his rebellious side became stronger and his tendency to take important decisions without the approval of the Executive Council grew.

It was as a result of such behavior that one afternoon, I quietly gave Okuoimose 30 minutes to give me his resignation letter or I would summon an emergency National Executive Council meeting to discuss his dismissal. Thirty minutes passed and I did not get the resignation letter. There was tension.

The emergency National Executive Council meeting was held. Okuoimose realized that I meant business and the ordinarily stubborn warrior realized that he had been outflanked. He apologized profusely. While he was pardoned, he was demoted and given a new position of National Organizing Secretary and directed to concentrate on the building of PMAN chapters across the country. This he did remarkably well. With my supervision, Okuoimose built the PMAN network of chapters and secretariats across the country with state secretaries that were at his beck and call.

On the recommendation of Legal Adviser, Mr. Caleb Atolagbe, a substantive General Secretary was appointed in the person of one Patrick Mejeidu. Mr. Mejeidu, a lawyer, left the service of the Lagos State Government to work for PMAN. Patrick Mejeidu was a stickler for rules. One could not help but feel that he was uncomfortable with the frequent unscheduled hours that PMAN worked. The PMAN secretariat was also like a newsroom. X rated banter was not unusual. Mr. Mejeidu, a strong born-again Christian, very carefully stayed away from the banter.

At about the time Mr. Mejeidu came to PMAN Headquarters, Mr. Aguomba, the Assistant Secretary - Public Affairs, left. Aguomba was succeeded by Emerson Gobert, another journalist. Mr. Gobert who was everyone's friend had come to PMAN with a C.V. that appeared to me to be too busy for a gentleman his age. He may have tried to impress with the C.V. but I commented that his C.V. suggested a level of restlessness that might lead one to conclude that he would not stay long on the job. Unfortunately, this proved to be true, but for the short while Mr. Gobert was at PMAN, he was good at his job.

All this was before the coming of Edi Lawani whose tenure as Secretary Media Affairs was quite eventful. Edi who was doing a post graduate program at the University of Lagos had come to interview me as a journalist when I challenged him with the job. It is common knowledge that Edi Lawani has made a name for himself as a successful event organizer, tactician and technician, the seeds of which I believe were sown at PMAN. This was also before the employment of Iyabo Lawani (not related to Edi), who became our Welfare Secretary and one of the best-known faces at PMAN and who later became a successful actress and the TV face of Maggie Cube, the popular cooking ingredient.

Okuoimose and I practically lived off our travelling bags. Our business was to solve problems in the music industry and put out fires wherever they occurred. Barely six months after he was appointed, it became clear that Mr. Patrick Mejjeidu was not cut out for life as a music industry activist. Our pace was a little too fast for him. He resigned.

And Okuoimose Emmanuel Okuoimose bounced back! He came back not as Acting PMAN General Secretary but as substantive General Secretary or Secretary General as he called himself. There was little friction thereafter because we truly learnt to work with each other. In many ways Okuoimose E. Okuoimose stood up for me. Like me, Okuoimose had very little interest in personal wealth. Our work was our life. The progress of the musicians of Nigeria was all we cared about. Okuoimose E. Okuoimose was a rare breed, a warrior with a very kind heart who lived and loved PMAN and all its members till he died.

Scruffy? Noisy? Stubborn? I loved the guy. When Okuoimose passed on a few years ago, I went to Benin City to visit his family. I was sure that with the great impact the man made in the promotion of the music industry, he should be celebrated in death. For some reasons, the choice was made to lay him to rest quietly. I respect that choice as I know that PMAN may never be the same again without another Okuoimose E. Okuoimose, the PMAN warriorwhose name means 'war is not good'. (To be continued).

See you next week.

PMAN & THE BIG PROMISE NOT KEPT

In the last quarter of 1987, the copyright campaign in Nigeria was hot because of the activities of the new executive council at PMAN. At the same time, the structure of PMAN as a true national organization was being built across Nigeria. In most places, the two objectives were tied. Between me and Acting General Secretary, Okuoimose E. Okuoimose, we were on the road constantly setting up the framework for new PMAN chapters and educating people everywhere. With other executive members, we met with State Governors such as Amadi Ikwechegh in Owerri, Bode George in Akure, Tunde Ogbeha in Uyo and Benin, Tanko Ayuba in Kaduna and others in Enugu, Ilorin, Port Harcourt, Kano, Calabar, etc. At every location, the team met with the resident musicians, the media, police commissioners and commissioners responsible for culture. Some of the commissioners we met were Sarah Jibrin in Ilorin, Chris Anyanwu in Owerri, Moses Ekpo in Uyo, Taiwo Alimi in Abeokuta, etc. The pursuit of our objectives took the PMAN team to the palaces of the Emir of Kano, the Alaafin of Oyo, the Obi of Onitsha, the Paramount Ruler of Uyo, the Emir of Ilorin, the Obong of Calabar, the Eze Apara Rebisi of Port Harcourt, Eze Onuegwunwoke in Owerri, Eze Ikonne in Aba, where I got my first ever chieftaincy title, etc..

Despite the hyperactive events, when December 31, 1987 came, there was no new copyright law. The promise I made that Nigeria would have a new copyright law at the end of 1987 or I would resign my position as President of PMAN had not been kept. I was depressed and disappointed. I had sacrificed my career and had persuaded others to make huge sacrifices too and there was nothing to show for all the activity. On January 2, 1988, I sent my resignation letter to PMAN Headquarters. Unknown to people on the outside, PMAN was once again in the throes of a crisis.

An emergency Executive Council meeting was held. The council refused to accept my resignation insisting that there was nothing that the I could do that I had not done. Some of the NEC members took the position that if the resignation was allowed to take effect, they too would leave. Legal Adviser, Mr. Caleb Atolagbe was particularly persuasive. He reminded me that we had succeeded in putting in place a reasonably credible process to finally bring about a new copyright law and that after the hopes I had raised, I had a duty to ensure that the process was guided to a successful conclusion. My ultimate decision to stay was for me a very humbling decision. Regardless of what ever happened thereafter, the fact that the law did not come at the time it was pledged would remain an indelible failure for me.

The reasonably credible process which Mr. Atolagbe spoke about was the product of a meeting held between PMAN and Colonel Tunde Akogun who was then Sole Administrator of Culture and Archives. At the meeting which took place at the National Theatre Lagos, Colonel Akogun was told that the musicians of Nigeria were tired of the many unfulfilled promises of the government. Colonel Akogun assured the PMAN delegation that both he and his Minister, Prince Tony Momoh, were determined to solve the problem once and for all. Following that meeting, a planning committee was set up to organize a conference to collate ideas from different experts and stake holders so that a comprehensive review of the Nigerian Copyright Law would be done. I was appointed a member of the planning committee which met in Abuja in November 1987.

The Abuja meeting which held at the Headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Trade was to be the first practical step by the government to address the copyright issue. I traveled to Abuja in the company of Mrs. Keji Okunowo, then MD of CBS Nigeria and Mr. Ayo Fawole then co-ordinator of IFPI Nigeria. Among those who attended the meeting was Tope Popoola, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Publishers Association (NPA). Mr. Popoola came to the meeting with a rather young looking lawyer by the name, Bankole Sodipo. Sodipo was then solicitor to the NPA. I took instant liking to the young lawyer who showed great passion for the intellectual property subject. The meeting as well had a four-man team from the Federal Department of Culture, Colonel Akogun's Department. The team led by S.O. Williams had Bayo Aiyegbusi, M.D.I. Olagunju and O.B. Adetula. E.O. Fadina came from the Federal Ministry of Education. Oladele Jegede of the Federal Ministry of Trade who was host and chairman of the meeting was chided by the private sector participants because his ministry which was in charge of copyright had slept on its mandate. The private sector participants were generally suspicious of the government officials and their well-known penchant for unwinding processes that lead nowhere, and that suspicion was expressed. A proposal for a National Seminar on the Nigerian Copyright Law was agreed

The National Seminar on the Nigerian Copyright Law was held at Durbar Hotel Lagos from the 21st to the 25th of March 1988. The seminar was declared open by President Babangida, represented by Air Vice-Marshal Nureni Imam. Both the Attorney-General, Prince Bola Ajibola and Minister of Information & Culture, Prince Tony Momoh were present. The copyright seminar brought together some of the brightest minds ever assembled in Nigeria to tackle an issue. The icons of the Nigerian Judiciary that attended the different sessions include Former Chief Justice, Sir Darnely Alexander; Chairman of the Nigerian Law Reform Commission, Dr Olakunle Orojo; Justice Kayode Esho and Justice Augustine Nnamani of the Supreme Court and Justice Fred Anyaegbunam and Justice Babatunde Belgore, etc.

The major outcome of the seminar was the setting up of a committee to draft a new copyright law for Nigeria, using the report of the seminar as its primary working tool. On April 18, 1988, the Drafting Committee convened at Durbar Hotel Lagos to produce the draft of a new copyright law for Nigeria. Chairman of the committee was Prof Egerton Uvieghara, respected professor of Commercial Law at the University of Lagos. I served on the committee.

For a period of about one week, we were locked in at Durbar Hotel Lagos. Under the guidance of Prof Uvieghara, the committee tried to craft a draft statute to reflect the yearnings of copyright owners, international developments and peculiar Nigerian realities. On a lot of issues, it was reasonably easy to reach a consensus on the principles, even if agreement on the language took a little longer. Some issues however were more difficult to handle such as the transfer of the copyright schedule from the Minister of Trade to the Minister responsible for culture. This was strongly opposed by Mr. Oladele Jegede from the Federal Ministry of Trade. At some point, it appeared that a walk out was imminent. The crisis management skills of Prof Uvieghara saved the day and the committee was able to complete its task successfully.

The Draft Copyright Law was submitted to the Federal Department of Culture to pass on to the appropriate authorities for promulgation into law.  Everyone involved was satisfied that all that needed to be done had been done. Not long after, information was received that a parallel effort was in progress. A directive from the AGF had mandated the Nigerian Law Reform Commission to undertake a review and reform of all Nigerian intellectual property laws. As a result, the Law Reform Commission began research work on the project and it appeared that everything would have to wait until the commission was through with its own process. I was alarmed and got in touch with Prof Uvieghara. This was a new development that was only going to create further complications to a matter that had received more than its fair share of complications. The attention of the Law Reform Commission was drawn to the fact that a draft copyright law had been produced by the committee set up as a result of the National Seminar on the Nigerian Copyright Law, a process fully supported both by the President and the Minister of Justice. Copies of the Report of the Seminar and the Draft Copyright Law were despatched to the commission.

The Law Reform Commission invited members of the Drafting Committee and officials of the Department of Culture to a review session at the Commission's Federal Secretariat office in Lagos. At the session chaired by the Commission's Chairman, Dr Olakunle Orojo, the Commission raised a number of issues on the draft, none of them major. All the issues were quickly resolved. Dr Orojo, commended us for what he called an excellent job. The amended draft was thereafter submitted to the Justice Minister with both the imprimatur of the Drafting Committee and the Nigerian Law Reform Commission.

Back at PMAN, the long wait began. The effort to spread the reach of the association continued. Strong support came from a number of musicians who though were not members of the Executive Council, were always ready to lend a hand. Some of these were Sir Victor Uwaifo, Chief Ebenezer Obey, Oliver De Coque, Comfort Omoge, Dan Maraya Jos, Mustapha Amego, Funmi Adams Charly Boy and his wife, Diane.

We worked together to mount an unending pressure on the government to act on the Draft Copyright Law. For a while, nobody knew what was happening. After the tremendous activities that took place during and immediately after the seminar, it was clear that the attention of the government had shifted to something else. It was understandable since the law had nothing to do with oil, there was no fat contract involved and nobody was going to get a penny for pushing it. It was clearly not in the priority of most government officials. Between the Ministry of Information & Culture and the Ministry of Justice, the response was the same, "something will be done soon". In 1988, May turned to June, June to July and July to August and the answer remained, "something will be done soon". Several letters were written to the different government officials, with the same answer, "something will be done soon". As September turned to October and October turned to November, I was filled with apprehension that another New Year's Day would come and go with the same answer, "something will be done soon".

Meanwhile, the piracy situation in Nigeria was getting much worse and the signs were that the music industry was on the throes of major divestment. It was time to take the bull by the horn. I instructed PMAN Headquarters to summon a meeting of the National Executive Council. At the meeting, there was agreement that something dramatic had to be done to force the hands of the military government. The decision was taken to declare November 30, 1988, Anti-Piracy Day throughout Nigeria. The big demonstrations on Anti-Piracy Day changed the narrative and less than 3 weeks after, the Copyright Act was promulgated. (To be continued)

See you next week.

HOW PMAN WAS TRANSFORMED INTO A NATIONAL PHENOMENON

Last week, I told the story of the sudden resignation in 1987 of the iconic musician, Emma Ogosi, from his position as General Secretary of PMAN. His resignation letter was handed over to oe of the staff to give to me, very early in the morning. Before I got to PMAN, Emma had packed his belongings from the one room he shared with Evi Edna at the PMAN Secretariat at No 1 Oremeji Street, Ikeja to the posh Wemabod Estate also in Ikeja. That suggested to me that there was prior planning of the development, yet Emma gave me no hint whatsoever. Wow! I had been tricked into becoming President of P-Nothing… Phew! Upon hearing the news, I was transfixed. Naturally, I felt betrayed and abandoned. If Ogosi all along was looking for a smart way to dump the problems of PMAN on the laps of someone, he had succeeded!

I requested for an immediate emergency meeting of the new Executive Council to deal with the unexpected crisis. It was decided at the meeting which went into the night that the resignation of Ogosi had to be handled with tact. With the barrage of bombs being thrown at the new Executive Council by the likes of Aigbe Lebarty, very bad signals would be sent out if the media, on its own, was to obtain the news of the departure of Emma Ogosi. The likeable Ogosi, to all intents and purposes, was the known face of PMAN.

It was therefore agreed that the association should issue an immediate and carefully worded press statement announcing Mr. Ogosi's resignation. The statement which was to convey the notion of no dispute and no acrimony should thank Ogosi for his service and sacrifice. This was before the age of the Internet so the statement had to be physically distributed to the media first thing the next morning.

The first staff position created by the new executives was that of 'Assistant Secretary, Public Affairs', a position considered critical if the change in the image of PMAN would be achieved and the policies of the union effectively sold to the public. Jacob Aguomba, then a freelance journalist, was appointed to the position. Mr. Aguomba was instructed to work with the President to issue the statement announcing Ogosi's resignation.

The appointment of an Acting General Secretary was also announced in the same statement. The Acting General Secretary appointed that evening was until then, Secretary to the Bendel State Chapter of PMAN, To be honest, Okuoimose Emmanuel Okuoimose who got appointed in an acting capacity, was not my idea of an ideal PMAN General Secretary. He was a bit too noisy, rather unkempt and abrasive. To me, he did not fit the image that the new leadership was trying to create at PMAN.  Regardless of these factors, Okuoimose was made Acting General Secretary because it was tactically necessary that the vacuum created by Ogosi's sudden departure be immediately filled. Okoimose E. Okoimose was also the only person available who was willing to take up the big task with little or no salary.

I very well knew that while people sang and danced to our music, many thought of us as good for nothing 'igbo' smokers and drunkards. I told Okuoimose that I was committed to changing the image of Nigerian musicians as a disorganized and unruly group of people. I must confess that Okuimose Emmanuel Okuoimose surprised me. He had an insatiable love for trade unionism and activism. What he lacked in finesse, he displayed in a huge appetite for work, an incredible grassroots organizational skill and a surprising talent in writing and book-keeping. Okuoimose could also begin a journey to any location in Nigeria with less than thirty minutes notice. He was someone who had little interest in comfort and luxury and could get things done at minimal cost. To my astonishment, he set out with little supervision to organize the thousands of pieces of paper, all over the secretariat, in a structured format and quickly developed an effective record keeping and filing system for PMAN. Together, we created a staff organogram. There are many who cannot stand me because I am an incurable workaholic but Okuoimose did not mind the endless work hours I demanded of him at PMAN. We established a bond.

The initial seed money needed to start any kind of activity was not available. To my shock, it was not just that PMAN did not have a kobo, five years after its establishment, PMAN did not have a bank account!  We could not even cash a cheque in the name of PMAN. How did the union manage? I had to contact a fantastic gentleman from Plateau State by the unusual name, S.P.Y. Gang who was manager of the Obafemi Awolowo Way, Ikeja branch of Savannah Bank and PMAN's first current accounts were opened. The money to open the account was contributed by members of the Executive Council and a few friends in the industry.

Immediately after the election, we had announced that the premiere objective of the new leadership was to finally get a new copyright law promulgated in Nigeria. I had gone ahead to pledge that the new leadership would so focus on this objective that if at the end of 1987, a new copyright law was not promulgated, I would resign my position. And so began one of the most intense campaigns ever undertaken by any private sector organization in Nigeria. Initially, I had planned to spend one day of every week at PMAN and the rest at my regular job as producer and A & R manager at EMI, the international recording company. In between, I intended to continue to be on the road during the weekends as a performing artiste. When the reality of the PMAN task began to unfold, the one day was increased to two and then to three and in less than three months, I had abandoned my excellent job at EMI without any formal resignation and was working full time at a job that had no salary whatsoever.

We transformed the biggest room in the secretariat into a meeting room and installed a second-hand air conditioner to make the room reasonably comfortable. The room was to play host to hundreds of meetings, strategy sessions, press conferences, disagreements and even open quarrels. The newly appointed legal adviser, Caleb Ola Atolagbe, apart from going in and out of court to deal with the many cases involving PMAN, was also involved in the many strategy sessions. PMAN did not have the resources to hire most of the staff required for the work it was doing. Each of the Executive Council members therefore, from time to time, performed staff assignments. It was not uncommon to see the likes of Onyeka Onwenu, Laolu Akins, Demos Deniran, Chris Ajilo, Rowland Onwuama, Tessy Sal Allan, C.O.C. Nze, Maliki Showman, Eunice Mokus, etc., all members of the executive council, at the secretariat, performing one task or another.

The campaign for a new copyright law was an all-consuming campaign. The level of ignorance on the subject was frightening. Without prior warning, I had become the chief advocate of the copyright cause. I had to read every book or article on the subject that I could find. The experience acquired in repertoire management at EMI would become invaluable I wrote countless newspaper articles. Almost every day, there was a meeting with one government official or another. In an industry well known for effervescent temperaments and big egos, it was my job as President to fire up and inspire my team yet manage the conflicting personalities with utmost care. That was not easy especially with the fact that I was by far the youngest member of the team.

To all close watchers, PMAN was short on staff, short on money, short on national spread but very strong in public relations. At this time, there was no social media. The magazine genre called 'Soft Sell' was steaming in the streets with 'Prime People', 'Vintage People', 'Today's Choice', 'Climax', etc., leading the way. A group of journalists made the PMAN secretariat their primary beat and second home. They seemed very excited by the many stories that were constantly developing at PMAN. This group of reporters who began to be addressed as entertainment journalists gave the association wall-to-wall coverage. Among the journalists were the irrepressible Azuka Jebose Molokwu of The Punch, Jackson Ekwugum at Guardian Express, Alvan Ewuzie of Champion, Kenneth Tadaferua at the Mail, Siaka Momoh of Vanguard, Edmund Enaibe at The Republic and the Sierra Leonian born Kolosa Kargbo, a writer of immense talent.

The likes of Femi Akintunde Johnson, Jahman Anikulapo, Kunle Bakare, Hakeem Ikandu, Muka Popoola, Kazie Uko, Richard Mofe Damijo, Charles Okogene, Ifeanyi Nkennor, Ogbonna Amadi, Jude Arijaje, Wale Olomu, Emma Agese, Ely Obasi, Zik Okafor, Nat Beifo Osewele, Osa Oyemadan, etc succeeded this initial group of journalists in the coverage of PMAN. It was this group that transformed our struggle into a national phenomenon and PMAN into a national brand with immense influence. (To be continued).

See you next week.